As a child, one of my favorite activities was to go shopping. I was fascinated by how stores worked and I loved observing customers.   I did not fully understand it back then, but I think the interest...

The Bed Bath & Beyond takeover of The Container Store continues.   Previously, Bed Bath & Beyond products were confined to the center aisle. But they’re now encroaching on other areas of the store.   ...

In the British structure of governance there is a constitutional formulation that divides the institutions into two parts. One, the efficient, is the government. It conducts the business of the nation...

While it doesn’t raise its ugly head quite so often these days, the concept of a retail apocalypse is still very much alive and well. It tends to come around when a retailer goes bankrupt or when a la...

I am not a great fan of many mainstream US supermarkets – players like Albertsons and Kroger. Bluntly, I find their propositions mediocre.   I use the word propositions deliberately because it would b...

Perhaps in a nod to the fast-approaching fall season, the store entrance of Walgreens features some boxes of scented pinecones. As there’s no context to this slightly random placement, someone has mis...

The pandemic had a huge impact on the way we dress.   Overnight, the formalwear market collapsed as events were cancelled. Smart casual took a tumble as offices closed and athleisure and the occasiona...

Well, the race for Harvey Nichols proved to be very short. So short, in fact, that it's now over. And the winner is Frasers Group. Out of the field, it's the most logical fit - mainly because Frasers...

At one point, Harvey Nichols was one of the best-known department stores in the world. Admittedly, this had quite a lot to do with Patsy and Eddy of Ab Fab fame; but, even so, that was thanks to a dec...

As fashion retailers battle for market share, the latest weapons being stocked in the armory may come as something of a surprise.   They’re not some newfangled AI tool but something that’s been around...

Some time ago, a promise was made by Target to upgrade stores that failed to make the cut for previous rounds of investment. You know the ones - they have bad lighting, red curved overhead signage, an...

Wayfair Q2 results: 💰 Net sales: +7.5% 🇺🇸 US revenue: +8.7% 🛍️ Customers: +3.3% 📉 Net income: -106.7 Multiple cogs engaged this quarter, all of which have given the Wayfair engine some welcome momen...

Over the past few years, Best Buy has been on the back foot. It’s a shame as it responded brilliantly to the pandemic and, in many ways, is still a solid retailer. But, nevertheless, it has lost marke...

People don’t want to shop in supermarkets anymore. No, people don’t want to shop in the supermarket that you haven’t bothered updating since the early 1990s and that’s so boring it’s like watching pa...

Many stores, especially older ones, have awkward little spaces. Those places where pillars get in the way, where level changes necessitate stairs and ramps, or where nooks and crannies break the flow....

Sprouts Q2 results: 💰 Total sales: +4.7% 🛒 Comp sales: -1.0% 📈 Gross profit: +4.4% 📉 Net income: +3.4% As Sprouts is lapping some tough prior year numbers (+17.3% total sales growth and +10.2% comp ...

Not all dishevelment on the shop floor is equal.   Sometimes mess is caused by carelessness, a lack of resources, or poor management. That’s worrying, especially if it’s pervasive, because it suggests...

Costco is giving out free samples ... of water. Now, on the surface, that sounds - and indeed looks - somewhat odd. After all, when associated with Costco, the word "sample" conjures up mini pizzas, ...

All brands need to evolve. Very few can remain static, especially as the forces of supply and demand changes around them. Small shifts are relatively safe to make, if only because they don’t garner t...

Back in 2022, Shein was riding high. It was growing quickly and attracted funding that placed its value at around $100 billion. There was some froth in that number, but it reflected a view that it was...

Many mainstream supermarkets in the US haven’t evolved that much. Their stores, propositions and general way of doing business remain largely the same as 10 or 20 years ago. We discussed this recently...

ICYMI ... here are all the main retail posts and discussions we have made on LinkedIn this week: 🎯 If it is to get back on track, Target needs to nail grocery. There are plans to make the offer more ...

There are some retailers that I put into a category of ‘we’re doing what we’ve always done’. They’re firms that have sat back and failed to evolve. As a result, they now feel sub-par.   That kind of c...

If it is to get back on track, Target needs to nail grocery. Aside from the fact that it accounts for a huge slice of revenue*, it is also one of the biggest drivers of trips. If grocery works well, t...

Swatch Group has finally returned to sales growth, with the watch firm reporting an 8.5% year-over-year increase in half-year net sales. While the partnership with Audemars Piguet was launched in a c...

Segmenting offers and breaking up the shop floor is an important way of creating retail spaces that are both easy and interesting to shop. Often this is done by lifestyle or end use. But it can also...

The 2026 World Cup provided many memorable moments. Most were on-the-pitch but, for me, it was just as interesting to see the off-the-pitch participation from retailers. With the tournament hosted ac...

There are some narratives in retail that take hold and become established wisdom, even if they’re not strictly true. One of these is that all retail sales growth is being driven by higher-income cons...

It was great to spend the past few days at Target HQ and speak to leaders across the organization, to walk stores, and to address the Officer team in conversation with Michael Fiddelke. My main takea...

In retail, big strategies matter. They give a business a sense of direction and tie various initiatives together. But small details matter just as much, especially when they’re customer facing: they...

Shopping missions differ. Sometimes consumers have a specific purchase in mind – a dress for an event. Sometimes they have a vague intent to buy – I’m in the mood for a new outfit, so I’ll see what’s...

Shein's long and winding path to a public offering seems like it might be nearing its end, as it now has approval to list in Hong Kong. Hong Kong was not the first choice but was effectively forced o...

Excluding the impact of acquisitions, the fastest growing mainstream retailer in the US in Q1 wasn’t American. That accolade belongs to the Canadian-based Aritzia, which chalked up an impressive 54.5%...

The new Fruit Fusion bodycare and fragrance lines from Bath & Body Works. With Hilary Duff serving as brand ambassador and creative partner. This looks very fresh in store. It immediately catches the...

Late last month, Michaels unveiled a remodeled store that showcases its latest thinking in terms of format and layout. It was great to visit yesterday and see it in the flesh. The model is a serious ...

Over recent years, the electronics market has been in the doldrums. There is no single factor behind this. It’s a combination of constrained consumers, more expensive financing, a lack of major techno...

Official sponsors of the World Cup get many benefits - especially exposure. But something that doesn’t require sponsorship is brands capturing hearts and minds. Levi’s capitalizing on the covering o...

Consumers are still spending - and they spent generously over the first half of this year. However, underlying behaviors still err on the side of caution. High numbers are looking for bargains and sh...

Nike Q4 results: 💰 Total revenue: -1.1% 🇺🇸 North America revenue: +2.7% 🇨🇳 Greater China revenue: -12.1% 👟 Direct revenue: -7% 📈 Net income: +406.6% Nike might be a little healthier than it once wa...

Kroger has struggled to generate meaningful growth for a long while. Repairing broken and neglected operational foundations is the key to fixing this. But that takes time. The acquisition of Giant E...

On has been one of the recent success stories in the sneaker space. The brand has generated considerable heat among both those buying for sports and those buying for casual wearing. This success has ...

When Doug McMillon took over as CEO, Walmart was an impressive retailer (as it has always been) but it was something of a traditional operator. That was reflected in the share price and market cap, th...

It is not uncommon for retailers and brands to occasionally struggle to generate growth. Internal stumbles, ebbs and flows in demand, and shifting competition can all make performance uneven. Maturit...

Over the past five years, the proportion of shoppers looking to maximize what they get for their money has increased. This applies to almost every country, which is why value concepts are on the rise ...

The apparel resale market has been on fire for quite some time. Indeed, sales of secondhand clothing in the US grew by 13.3% last year as more consumers crowded into the arena – both as a way of makin...

While Lululemon is struggling to get its North American business back on track, other athleisure players are on the move! Vuori is focusing on global growth, including cracking China. The business is...

It was great to be given a tour of the Aéropostale store in NYC. As it’s part of Catalyst Brands, we don’t hear all that much about performance – but the brand has been on a growth tear over the past...

For retail, the World Cup is helpful for boosting sales - both through the sale of related merchandise and because of the extra foot traffic in cities hosting the event. However, an unexpected bonus...

The person at the top of the retail tree matters. Their vision sets the tone. And that drives the numbers. Arguably, that person needs a merchant mindset: an understanding of products, customers, and...

Something American Eagle does particularly well is put its products in context. This goes beyond neat merchandising – which has always been a strength of AE – and involves showing how items can be sty...